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A/n

Y/n and Bran ride beside their brothers. "I thought he was brave." she hears Jon say. "Brave? He was dead of fear. You could see it in his eyes." the young girl rolled her eyes and looked at her brother Robb. "What would be in your eyes with your head on the stump? He died well. Give him that much." Robb raised his hand in defeat. "Okay, I meant no offense, lady y/n" y/ n's brothers always call her lady Y/n due to her not being of their family, but they still consider her as their sister. The young wolf scoffed and spurred her horse to gallop over the bridge, her brothers in the dust. Robb smiles and turns to Snow. "Race you to the bridge?" Jon rolls his eyes as if he's beyond such juvenile games--then, without warning, he spurs his horse after Y/n, who is long gone. 

Robb curses and follows. They gallop off the trail, Robb laughing and hooting; Jon is silent. Bran's pony can't compete in that race, so he follows slowly behind, craning his neck to see if he can spot the winner. "You understand why I did it?" So comes Nedd's voice beside the young black wolf, and Brann turns in his saddle, startled. Beside him rides Nedd on his great warhorse, looming above the boy as a giant. Bran nods to his father. " Jon said he was a deserter. He was in the Night's Watch and ran away." even though the king of the north is speaking with his son, he still surveys his surroundings, aware of his men's positions, the possible sites for an ambush, the angle of the sun.

"True enough, but do you understand why I had to kill him?" after his father's words, Brann is left confused, thinking about them a while before answering, "King Robert has a headsman." Nedd nod. "He does. As did the Targaryen kings before him." Ned reaches out to grab the pommel on Bran's saddle. He forces the horse and pony to walk very close. "Our way is the old way. The man who passes sentence should swing the sword." the young boy's eyes glide to the massive sword sheathed at Ned's hip, swallowing. "Is it true he saw the Others?" Ned stares at his son for a long while. "You heard that?" the man pauses when the sound of hooves suddenly comes against them. Letting go of his son's pommel, Ned grips his sword, ready to strike.

But out of the thin mist, they see the familiar figure of their beloved Y/n. Brann smile at the coming of his sister, and Ned does too. "father, Brann. what are you two talking about?" Brann looks down while Ned scans his adoptive daughter's expression carefully "you sure you wanna hear it?" the lady nods, raising a confused eyebrow "if Bran gets to, then yes" Y/n makes her horse go beside Brann's like the white mare nickers a greeting to the pony and warhorse. they both answer. "so, father, what now?" 

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Y/n and her brother and father are interrupted by the sound of hooves; Jon reappears on the crest of the hill before them, waving urgently. "Over here!" Y/n takes no time and sets her horse in motion, following her brother. Ned and Bran have no other option than follow the young lady. Soon they all reach the riverbank. Jon has dismounted beside Robb, who cradles something in his arm. Y/n dismouts as well, smiling gently. As Jory and Theon approach the older boys, Bran and Ned stay back with the rest of their party; when he sees what lies on the ground beside Robb, Theon curses and pulls his horse away. Jory does the same and yells to the boys: "Get away from it!" Y/ n scoff and hisses to Jory, "stupid brother, she can't hurt. She's dead," Bran, injured by curiosity at his sister's words, spurring his horse closer and dismounts Ned following. 

"What in hell is it?" Theon snaps, but his anger dims as the previous glare of lady Y/n passes in his way "keep your mouth shut," she hisses. the young boy is offended and looks at his friends and father to get some help, but they're all checking out the wolf mother there she lay. "A wolf," Robb says, answering his brother more gently than the lady wolf. The dead wolf is impossibly huge, bigger than Bran's pony. Its blind eyes were crawling with maggots. "It's a freak." Theon says, "No. That's a direwolf." Jon says, feeling his sister's anger bubbling up, "she is beautiful if she had been alive" Y/n speaks up, crouching beside her. Ned kneels beside her, groping under the beast's head; he gives a yank and comes up with a foot of shattered antler, slick with half-dried blood.

"There hasn't been a direwolf south of the Wall for two hundred years," he says and stands. He looks at Y/n, who doesn't follow his action seeing her eyes trailed on something "pups," she says and stands smiling at the bundle beneath Robb's arm. "now there's five" When Bran sees what everyone is staring at, his eyes widen. He moves in to get a closer look at the direwolf pup-- a tiny ball of gray-black fur, eyes still closed, nuzzling blindly against Robb's chest, whimpering.

"Tough old beast, wasn't she? Birthing a litter with an antler in her throat." Jory says, dodging a whack in teh arm from lady Y/n. "Go on. You can touch him." Robb says to Bran, who gives the pup a quick, nervous stroke. As he turns, Jon is there beside him. "Here you go." Y/n smiles at her little brother, walking to him and petting the young wolf in Bran's grasp. a man called Hullen, the horse master frowns at this ill omen. "Direwolves loose in the realm." he says, and Theon smirks, saying, "Not for long." he draws his sword and reaches for the pup in Bran's arms, but a hand on his stops him "don't, " Theon birslets at her "Give it here." "No! It's mine!" Bran calls, looking at his sister for support seeing her gaze turned to Ned. "Better a quick death. They won't last without their mother," he says 

Y/n stands up and offers her hands to the pup, which Bran gives her. The little beast whims against her chest, seemingly searching for food "no, little one," she says gently, and the man looks at her. "I have no food for you," the pup whimpers in response, leaning gray-black snout agasint her face; she smiles a smile that warms the heart of her brothers. "little one," she cooed and boops their noses. The pup yips. "he seems to like you, sister," Jon says. He then looks at Ned. "Lord Stark... There are five pups. Three male, two female." he smiles at Y/n. "You have five trueborn children. Three sons and two daughters. The dire wolf is the sigil of your house" Y/n looks at her adoptive father and smiles, "yeah, he is right." Ned looks at y/n as she speaks up again, "Your children were meant to have these pups." he raises a brow, "you're just as much my daughter as the others. why not you?" Y/n sighs and walks over to Jon.

"we're not a Stark, my Lord." Ned weighs the situation for a moment in silence. "You will feed them yourselves. And train them yourselves." Bran nods eagerly. Robb nods as well. "They may die anyway, despite all you do." "They won't. We won't let them." Y/n smile at Robb, who meets her eyes and smile back. She looks down at the pup "you will get a home, little one," she says and kisses the wolf's head. Jon smiles at his sister's actions, and Bran goes up to her. "here, young brother," she says and hands him the pup she took in her arms. the puppy whimpers a little at the contact but soon nuzzles into Bran. "thank you, sister." Y/n smiles. 

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